A Matter of Skill
by EpicFangirl46
Summary: When HYDRA makes a threat S.H.I.E.L.D. requests for help from MI6. What happens when they send none other than Alex Rider?
1. If you can hear this, you've been hacked

Alex stared at the woman in front of him.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to fly to New York, and work with _superheroes_ , for a mission. Do you know how crazy you sound right now?" Alex told her.

"I'm aware, Alex, that this sounds crazy, but S.H.I.E.L.D has recently reached out to use asking for help against a terrorist organization called HYDRA. I have agreed to send them an agent, and I was hoping to send you," Mrs. Jones explained to the boy in front of her.

"No. No way. Forget it. The answer is no!"*

"Well then I'll let you leave, but I do know Smithers is itching to see you and I'm sure he'll give you some gadgets for your trip," Mrs. Jones replied. There was a groan of protest.

"Fine. I'll go. When do I leave?" Alex asked.

"As soon as you're packed. You should see Smithers first. A car will be at your house to pick you up at 2, your flight leaves at 3. Good luck, Alex."

"Thank you, Mrs. Jones," Alex replied before heading to see Smithers.

* * *

"Alex, old chap, it's great to see you again. I do enjoy making you gadgets," Smithers greeted, carrying a tray before sitting down.

"Hello, Mr. Smithers," Alex replied looking at the tray.

"I have some new gadgets along with a couple of the older ones. For the older ones we have the zit cream, yo-yo, and earring. For you new gadgets I have a subway card. This card will grant you access to any doors that are locked electronically. You will also have a mobile phone. You can use it as a regular phone but there are some perks. Like the last phone I gave you it is water proof and shoots out tranquilizer darts if you dial 911 as you will be in the States for this one. In you favorite contacts you have a direct line to MI6 and there are a few apps of interest. Smoke Stacks is a custom made game that you can play if you wish but if you enter it and tap each smokestack the phone will become a smoke bomb. There is a five second delay. hen there is Red Alert. If you need help it will send out a distress call to us, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Avengers. And the last app is Simon. It allows you to listen in on conversations for up to 50 feet," Smither told Alex, handing him each gadget, before wishing him luck.

"Thank you Mr. Smithers," Alex told him with a smile before going to pack.

* * *

 _Meanwhile in New York_

"Wait a second. You're saying that a random British spy is going to becoming here because of a threat from HYDRA? And you don't know who?!" Tony exclaimed, staring at Fury.

"Yes, Stark. That is what I said. And while I don't know exactly who Jones is sending I know who she wanted to send and was hoping to talk him into it."

"Wait. If he works for this Jones person wouldn't he _have_ to come here? And who is he anyways?"

"Any other agent would have to come here but this one is a special case. As to who he is. His name is Alex Rider and whoever is coming will be here at 7 so I'd prepare for his arrival," Fury told the Avengers before leaving. Tony watched as he left.

"I'll meet you guys back at the tower," Tony told the Avengers before heading there himself. He went to work almost immediately.

"JARVIS pull up any files you can find on the MI6 agent, Alex Rider."

"Right away, sir."

Tony sat down for a few minutes, hating Fury for this. _'I'm going_ _to saddle you off with a spy. Have fun!' I hate you Fury,_ ony thought when JARVIS spoke up.

"I was unable to get anything on an MI6 agent named Alex Rider."

"Are you kidding me? So either Jones or Fury was lying to me or they managed to hide his file from you. Were you able to hack them?"

"Up to a point, then I was attacked by a Smith..."* JARVIS started before another voice spoke up.

"If you can hear this, you've been hacked," an Irish voice cut in.

"JARVIS what was that?" Tony asked.

"That would be Smith..."

"If you can hear this, you've been hacked."

"You know what. Don't answer that just leave it." And with that Tony left to prepare a room for this unknown agent.

* * *

 ***** **t** **aken from Ark Angel Chap** **ter 20**

 **** Inspired by the note in Eagle Strike**


	2. Don't Touch That

Alex got out of the car grabbing his bags as well. He stared up at the tower in front of him.

"Temporary home sweet home," Alex muttered under his breath. Picking up his bags he walked in. Alex looked around for any indication of where he was supposed to go. His eyes fell on a note addressed:

 _Mystery Agent_

Alex picked it up suppressing a yawn he opened it.

 _Your room is on the 90th floor. We'll meet you there._

Alex pocketed the note, heading for an elevator. Once inside he pressed the button for the 90th floor. When the door opened he stepped out and met a group of people, who hadn't seem to notice him.

"Look. Just watch. JARVIS who hacked you?"

"A man named Smith..." A voice from the ceiling spoke startling Alex when another voice came on.

"If you can hear this, you've been hacked."

Alex laughed with a grin on his face, startling the assembled men.

"Um...Who are you and why are you in my tower?" One of the men asked. Alex christened him Goatee.

"I'm sorry but your note told me to come up. And I have to say, you must have tried to hack into my file if you're getting that message," Alex replied.

"Wait you're just a kid, and you're a spy? And you know who Smith is?" Goatee asked.

"Yes. I am a kid and I unfortunately am a spy. I guess you could call it the family business. As for your other question. I do know a Smith but he is not the one who hacked you. Your hacker kept your ceiling voice from saying his full name as a protection measure. He gave me a bike once and when I used the ejection, there was a note saying: If you can read this, then you owe me a new bike," Alex explained. "Now am I going to get any introductions or will I have to keep calling you Goatee?"

Goatee sputtered for a minute when one of the others answered.

"I'm Steve Rogers, that's Clint, Bruce, and that's Tony. Natasha should be here soon."

"Nice to meet you. Is there anywhere for me to put my bags?"

"Sure follow me," Goatee, now christened Tony, led Alex away to a separate room. It was quiet for a few moments.

"So...teenaged spy. How cool is it?" Tony asked as Alex started unpacking.

"I hate it. I didn't want this I was forced into it," Alex responded. He looked up and saw Tony about to pickup the zit cream. "Don't touch that. I don't have a lot of that stuff."

"Kid, this is zit cream. I could get you a better brand if you wanted."

"Look. Don't touch my stuff. Some of it is dangerous. And no I won't tell you what is and what it does."

* * *

By the time Alex and ony returned Natasha had arrived.

"-to me Nat. He is a _kid_. Can't be more than 17 -"

"Actually I'm 15," Alex cut in before seeing Natasha. "You know you have a HYDRA agent on the couch right?" Alex asked pulling out his phone. Natasha stood up, a shocked look on her face.

"I _killed_ you. I shot you in the heart. You shouldn't be alive," Natasha said.

"Wait you shot a kid in the heart?!"

"She missed. By a half inch. I was walking down stairs at the time. Saved my life," Alex replied. "Why are you here?"

"I shot him because I was under surveillance of SCORPIA. Alex here betrayed them so I ended up having to kill him. I was deep undercover at that point. I'm not HYDRA, Alex. hat was a cover. I'm sorry."

Alex just looked at her. "Just stay away from me right now. I'm going to bed. Knock on my door in the morning to wake me up."

And with that Alex left for bed.

* * *

 **Enjoy!**


	3. Unwilling MI6 agent

After Alex left the group turned on Natasha.

"You shot a kid in the heart?! Seriously?! For a cover!"

"You don't know SCORPIA. Huge terrorist group responsible for a tenth of world terrorism, took down two governments and corrupted more people. I had to do that. It was one of my easier jobs. Shot him as he left. No one expected him to live," Natasha explained before turning around. "I'll see you in the morning." And with that she left for the night.

* * *

Alex awoke to a knock on the door.

"Kid? You awake?" Tony's voice came through the door.

"Yes. I'll be ready in a second," Alex replied as he rolled out of the bed. Alex threw on his clothes before opening the door to see Goatee standing there.

"Morning kid. Fury wants to meet with you and everyone to brief us. You feeling up it?"

"Oh, well I don't know...considering the fact that I don't want to be here in the first place..."

Tony stared at him like he was crazy. Alex sighed.

"Lead the way."

Alex closed and locked his door behind him before following Tony down the hall.

"So how do you know Natasha?"

"It's complicated. I don't want to go into that."

"Okay...So why can't I touch your stuff. Especially your zit cream. That brand is _useless_. I can get you better stuff like I said last night," Tony complained.

Alex laughed.

"No you can't. You may think you can but nothing can top that stuff."

"Whatever you say kid."

"I have a name you know, Goatee," Alex said as they stopped in front of a conference room.

"I know. I just don't feel like using it," Tony shot back opening the door to find the rest of the Avengers and Fury sitting there.

"Your late, Stark. Who's the kid and where's the agent from MI6?" Fury demanded.

"I'm Alex Rider. Unwilling MI6 agent that was bribed into coming," Alex introduced himself.

" _You're_ a spy? You're what 17? 18?"

"Fifteen."

"How come S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't heard of you?"

"You're looking at one of the best hidden secrets in the world," Alex said before giving Fury a ridiculous smile and sitting down.

Fury sighed.

"Okay then. HYDRA has been largely active lately for those of you who don't know. This is going to be dangerous and will include infiltration. Right now you are all going to train and get to know each other so you won't get each other killed in the field due to nerves, inexperience, or emotions. Dismissed" With that Fury left the conference room.

Tony looked at everyone.

"So what's next?"


	4. So, I now present to you, kid spy

Alex followed the Avengers to the training room, doing his best to keep his distance from Natasha. Although he had tried to remain calm when he first saw her, his insides were boiling. He thought back when he first met her on Malagosto, shortly after he first arrived.

* * *

 _"Alex, there you are. I would like you Natalia Romanova. One of the best assassins in the world. Trained by HYDRA. Natalia this is Alex Rider, one of our newest recruits," Julia Rothman introduced the two._

 _"Pleasure to meet you Alex," the redhead replied shaking his hand, a slight Russian accent slipping through her words._

 _"Nice to meet you too, Miss Romanova," Alex replied._

 _"Alex is one of our most promising new recruits," Miss Rothman bragged. Alex would train with "Natalia Romonova" throughout his time on the island, eventually becoming one of the only people on the island Alex didn't feel would slit his throat in an instant._

* * *

"Hey, Alex. Are you doing okay with Natasha?" Clint asked the teen, coming up next to him.

"I'll be fine. I just need some time. I'm not certain that I wouldn't seriously injure her if I had the chance," Alex replied.

"She's not a bad person. She was trained by HYDRA from a young age. She's changed though," Clint replied, standing up for her.

"My uncle trained me since the time I could walk to become a spy, of course without me ever realizing it," Alex snapped back. Clint stayed silent for a minute. "Don't tell me you didn't know. Nobody did. I'm the best kept secret there is. Only intelligence agencies know of me and what I do."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. So your an archer?"

"Yeah. One of the best."

"That's cool."

The two of them fell into silence until they reached the training room.

"So, I now present to you, kid spy, our training room!" Goatee announced. Alex rolled his eyes at the grandeur. Looking around the room he found a target area, an sparring area, a pool, and various other areas Alex wasn't sure what for.

Alex went over to the target range picking up a gun.

"Hey Kid! Should you really be handling a gun?"

Alex looked at Tony, rolling his eyes, before lifting the gun and shooting six times.

"Alex, they taught you at Malagosto?" Natasha asked.

Alex turned around to face her.

"What do you expect? For them not to teach a student to shoot accurately at a place that farms assassins? You might want to. It'd make you a better spy."

"You were trained by assassins?" Clint asked, trying to gleam some information.

"It was a cover, a very deep cover. If you would excuse me I'd like to get a drink."

With that Alex walked to the opposite side of the room to a small fridge stocked with water bottles and juice. Tony laughed. The kid couldn't be that good could he? Walking up to the targets he looked where Alex's shots hit. All right near the Bulls-eye.

"Damn," he whispered.


	5. You're Pulling Your Punches

Alex sat down on a bench, silently cursing Jones, MI6, Blunt, SCORPIA, and anyone else he could think of that messed up his life. _Of course Jones sends me to the place housing the sniper that shot me,_ Alex thought. He watched as Goatee looked at his target, then at him, then back at the target, laughing at his expression. Alex opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, deciding to rest before rejoining the group.

* * *

Clint grabbed Natasha and pulled her to the side.

"What happend on Malagosto, Nat?"

Natasha sighed. "A lot."

"What happened to Alex on Malagosto?"

"He was trained to be an assassin. He was tought instinctive shooting and ways to poison, toture, and disappear. He was one of the best students. They sent him on a test, he failed, killed a board director and another member of SCORPIA and I was sent to clean up the mess. It was a bad situation."

Clint nodded.

"He shouldn't have had to go through that. Escpecially at that age."

"Organizations such as SCORPIA don't care. Julia Rothman didn't care. She just wanted revenge. He would have died either way, despite being one of the best on the island."

"One of the best? That fast at his age?"

"He was born to it."

* * *

 _Julia Rothman sat down across from Natasha._

 _"What do you think about Alex?"_

 _"Promising," she replied curtly._

 _"Yes. He rose to the top of his class quickly. Tell me Natalia, do you know his heritage?"_

 _"No I don't."_

 _"Have your heard of Hunter? Or John Rider?"_

 _"Yes. Hunter was a teacher here, one of the best assassins there was. John Rider was an MI6 agent, one of their best."_

 _"They are the same person. Alex is his son. It is in his blood to say the least. He certainly is an asset," Julia told her before departing. Natasha would watch Alex when she could and began to recognize the similarities. The Blonde hair, the brown eyes, his seemingly unnatural agility._

* * *

Alex stood and rejoined the others.

"Where did yo-nope nevermind. How did you learn to shoot like that?" Goatee asked.

"How do you think? Practise," Alex replied. "Anyone want to spar?"

"I will," Clint volunteered stepping up to the sparring mat. Alex stepped up after him. The two of them took their positions.

"Begin!" Tony called.

Clint snapped a hand forward, testing Alex who blocked it quickly. Alex shot back with a kick to the side which Clint grabbed and attempted to toss him to the ground. Alex crouched and recovered quickly, to block the punches coming at him. Alex crouched down, swinging his leg down and around aiming for the back of the knees, managing to connect with the inner on causing Clint to stumble.

"You're pulling your punches," Alex told him as Clint recovered and went for a spinning back roundhouse kick, which Alex grabbed and threw to the ground. Alex proceeded to grab Clint's arm and twist it.

"I don't want to hurt you," Clint told him, breaking his hold and flipping him onto the mat. Alex brought on of his legs up and kicked Clint in the chest standing up.

"Do you think anyone I fight cares if I get hurt?" Alex asked, laughing slightly, thinking about how he's used his age to his advantage before. Clint paused. Alex struck knocking him onto the ground while he was thinking. Alex stood and offered him a hand. Clint took it and stood.

"You're not the first to fall for that," Alex informed himas he stepped off of the mat.


End file.
